Councillor hopes to quash carbon tax by showing weight of impact

Councillor Diane Colley Urquhart is asking administration to quantify the impact of the provincial carbon tax on Calgarians, as a way to try and make a case to the province to hold off on the controversial program.

Colley Urquhart says until you know the full impact, you can’t go to the province and say hold off on the carbon levy.

She says for the government to bring in a carbon tax when Calgary is wallowing in an economic downturn which hasn’t hit bottom yet is reckless.

Colley Urquhart says the Notley government needs to back down on the tax and with the information from administrators coming in October, the city can – from a political perspective – appeal to the government’s goodwill.

City officials say there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to the carbon tax especially since the federal government has announced it’s own plans for a federal carbon tax.